


b.

by koyangee



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, Gen, M/M, Original Character(s), Pokemon - Freeform, Teenage Drama, awkward teenagers, romantic exploration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 20:25:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16144847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koyangee/pseuds/koyangee
Summary: “Then…” Imogen dared to speak up, “where would you like to go?”“Anywhere, but here. Anywhere, but Kalos. I want to be as far from home as possible. I’d shoot myself straight into space if I could!” Adrien raised his arms above his head and his eyes got big and serious.





	b.

**One afternoon, when Adrien and Imogen had had an arranged ‘playdate’...**

 

“...I wanna get outta here.” Adrien mumbled. He had his head laid to the side on the balcony table, staring blankly past the Walsh’s impressive gardens. 

 

Imogen, who was sitting in the seat beside him, looked up from the book he was idly reading. 

 

“Do you fancy a walk in the garden..?”  He asked, even though he already knew the answer. 

 

Adrien slowly flopped his head to the left and gave the other boy a dour look. 

 

“S’not what I meant an’ you know it…” And with that, he moved positions so that he was looking out  past the balcony once again. Imogen’s lips took a slight downward dip as he watched; there wasn’t any point in having his book out now, he could scarcely read when Adrien was like _This_. He quietly shut his book and placed it neatly on the table. 

 

There was a moment of quiet that passed between them, interrupted only by the chimes that Imogen had hanging by his window. It wasn’t a tense silence, but it wasn’t very pleasant either. 

 

“Then…” Imogen dared to speak up, “where would you like to go?” 

 

A few ticks went by before Adrien groggily picked his head up and instead of using the table to prop himself up, he held himself in both of his hands. The way he looked out into the distance, as if he were looking at all the places he could choose from, was a mesmerizing sight that Imogen couldn’t look away from. When he got deep in thought like this, his brilliance was blinding. 

 

And then he was looking at Imogen and the older boy had to resist the urgent need to turn and hide. Instead he stared back into the clear blue eyes and met him head on - even with the pounding of his heart deafening him. 

 

“Anywhere, but here. Anywhere, but Kalos. I want to be as far from home as possible. I’d shoot myself straight into space if I could!” Adrien raised his arms above his head and his eyes got big and serious. It was such a childish gesture that Imogen couldn’t help but first) blink in surprise at and then second) laugh into his ready waiting hand. 

 

“Into space?” How cute…! “If that were possible, I think I’d like to come with you.” 

 

Adrien grinned at that, setting his arms back down. It was nice when he could get Imogen to laugh - he looked more his age when he was having fun and not stuffing his nose into a book. 

 

“It is possible, there’s been voyages to space before! We would just need a spaceship and then we could launch ourselves right outta here. Bet collectively we could buy one.” He rattled off some logistics and the things they would need to pack; but also weighed the fact that they weren’t trained for space adventures and it would be hard to acclimate without the necessary training. In the end, he decided that there was no logical means of them actually going to space.

 

“Okay, okay,” Imogen waved one hand as the other was splayed out over his mouth - hiding a too-big-to-be-polite smile. Adrien wished he’d just forget about all that stuffy stuff. “no far off odyssey amongst the stars for either of us. But there’s still plenty of places we  _ could _ go, here on Earth. If not Kalos, where else would you most like to go?” 

 

“Hoenn.” The answer was out of his mouth just as soon as Imogen had asked him. He opened his mouth to say something more, but a sudden realization made him stop short. Adrien gave his companion an unreadable look which quickly melted into a goofy grin. “ _ We _ ? Are you plannin’ on coming with me?” 

 

That hadn’t really been what Imogen was going for, but he couldn’t deny what he’d said - even if it had been an unconscious slip. There wasn’t any way, in a made up scenario or not, that he could leave Kalos. He had far too many obligations here. Imogen’s previous cheerfulness was dampened by the thoughts and he couldn’t keep from falling into his usual serious expression. 

 

“No, no. This is all just hypothetical.” Imogen waved his hands, like he was trying to physically banish the very implication that these fanciful adventures could include himself.  Adrien looked unconvinced. 

 

“If it’s all hypothetical, then what’s the harm in  _ hypothetically _ having you come along with me?” 

 

While he had a point and gesture was nice, it left a bad taste in the older boy’s very being. Speaking in hypotheticals about the both of them going to Hoenn and consequently leaving everything in Kalos behind was,  _ frankly _ , a rather dangerous track of thought. Not so much as the thought _itself_ , but for the hope and ideas that sprang _from_ the thought. The tantalizing freedom and fun that it presented to the Walsh heir was too much for him. 

 

Adrien must have noticed how troubled his expression had gotten because he too had gone silent. They both stared at each other before Imogen sighed and looked away first; out at the gardens and maybe, if he dared, a little past them. He wondered if he could ever see what Adrien did. 

 

A loud groan that could only be described as utterly  _ exasperated _ erupted from beside Imogen, startling him enough that he looked back at the younger teen. Adrien sprang out of his seat, pushing it back as he did, and slammed one hand down on the table while gesturing with the other. 

 

“Why can’t you just let yourself have -” he seemed to struggle with finding the right word before settling on “something! All you ever do is worry and think and overthink. When’re you gonna do something for yourself instead of always hesitating?! You can’t even just let yourself  _ think _ about doing something your parents haven’t prearranged for you!” Adrien grumbled under his breath and threw himself back into the chair, slumping in irritated dejection. Why couldn’t Imogen understand - that sometimes you had to do things that you weren’t ‘ _supposed_ ’ to so that you felt like there was actually something worth living for. He knew  _ he _ wasn’t going to stick to the life that was laid out for him, no chance in heck. 

 

He crossed his arms and glared into the distance. Imogen hadn’t said anything so he was sure the older boy was lost in his head again. But whatever, it wasn’t like it was really his problem. 

 

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into even longer minutes. If he wasn’t so busy brooding he might have been uncomfortable with how long Imogen’s silence had lasted. Then, finally, the lapse in conversation was breached. 

 

“Lavaridge Town. If we were to go to Hoenn, I’d like to visit Lavaridge Town. I’ve heard much about their hot springs, and as I’ve yet to go to one, I believe it would be nice to experience. They also have quite the assortment of herbal remedies I would like to see in person.” 

 

Adrien let his words replay once, twice, three times in his head as his face slowly lost it’s scowl. Lavaridge Town was famous with old people due to its hot springs... The younger teen slowly turned a small dopey smile towards the other boy, a brow raised. 

 

“Lavaridge Town..? What are you, an old man?” But he laughed despite himself and his earlier frustrations. He hadn’t expected Imogen to actually concede. Honestly, it was such a shock he could barely look away from him now. Mister prim and proper, thinking about naughty things like going to a different region and taking a dip in a hot spring without his parent’s permission… 

 

He watched Imogen’s profile, which was drawn tight in troubled thoughts. He watched the gentle curves of shadows the sun cast on his pale features. The way his pure white hair gently swayed over his lightly freckled temples. His eyelashes were just as white, and long enough that they brushed gently at the tops of his cheeks. He watched how he worried at his bottom lip unconsciously, perfect teeth drawing in a pretty pink lip.. 

 

Adrien’s breath nearly caught in his throat as he realized he had been staring for much longer than what was appropriate. He’d looked at Imogen plenty of times, this really shouldn’t have been as flustering as it somehow was. He instead focused on the book that Imogen had set aside. Another of those murder mysteries. You’d think he would’ve read them all by now… 

“Would you really.. not mind if I were to come with you?” The younger teen felt a chill of goosebumps run up his arms. He’d been so hyper focused on all the tiny details of the book cover that he was startled by the question. He looked back up at Imogen, his own eyes wide and a light dusting of pink on his own cheeks (ugh, why was he even so flustered!?). 

 

“Well.. hypothetically.. why not? In this.. made up scenario, anything could happen. That’s why it’s made up. Yknow.. hypothetical.” Adrien fumbled with his words, more so than usual, and he shrank back a little in his chair at the intensity of Imogen’s stare. The older boy’s bottom lip was chewed on again, before slowly slipping out from under his teeth - a small but overpowering action that Adrien couldn’t help but focus on. 

 

“What if it… wasn’t, though. Wasn’t hypothetical or made up, or what have you.” It was the tone of his voice that made Adrien gulp. He sounded hopeful, but uncertain. And the moment he looked up to meet his gaze again, he couldn’t look away. 

 

But Imogen only continued to speak, even as they held each other’s eyes so intently. 

 

“Would you really be alright with me? I mean, with me coming with you, to Hoenn?” 

 

“Uh..” Good start. “Yeah…? Um, yeah, it’s fine. I don’t really mind. It’d be better to have someone go with me anyways, and yknow, it’d be _even better_ if that someone was somebody I liked. As a friend, a person who’s my friend - I would be happy to have a friend with me!” He would’ve slapped himself if Imogen wasn’t watching him. 

 

Imogen, for his part, took his garbled response pretty well; if you didn’t count the way his eyes got bigger and he stared at Adrien like he’d said something totally unbelievable. Which he may have well had in Imogen’s mind. He’d never really considered them to be ‘friends’, perse. Maybe something more on the terms  of ‘forced into a friendship due to their parents but tolerating each other because it wouldn’t be pleasant otherwise’, or something like that. At the very least, they got along but it wasn’t as thought Imogen really thought Adrien would have ever considered him his friend - since he was so stuffy and proper and Adrien was so free spirited. 

 

He’d always admired the way Adrien wouldn’t let himself be held down by familial and societal obligations. At first he’d resented him a little and thought he was annoying. But the more time they spent together the more he’d come to appreciate the other boy’s restless spirit. He wanted so badly to be like him. To say ‘No!’ for once and do what  _ he  _ wanted to do. 

 

Imogen furrowed his brows and closed his eyes. He was almost seventeen and not a single day of his life hadn’t already been planned out for him. His entire future had already been planned - from his career, his schedule, his hobbies,  _ his wife _ and the _kids_ they were expected to have. 

 

He opened his eyes with a newfound resolve. 

 

“Let’s leave. It doesn’t matter to me where we go, if you want to leave for Hoenn then I’ll gladly follow. If you wanted to shoot for the stars, I would go there too! Anywhere but here.  _ Please _ .” And for the first time since knowing him, Adrien heard desperation in the older boy’s voice. He could feel the visceral need for escape radiating off of him. Though he was usually a low energy sort of kid, the pleading look in his friend’s eyes made his blood thrum and his heart sing with a  _ need _ to pick up and leave this joint - together with Imogen. 

 

“You’re serious…” Was all Adrien could think to mutter before nodding his head. He was already thinking of all the ways they could leave. Money wasn’t a problem for either of them, so that was one thing they didn’t need to think about. They’d need to purchase tickets for a ship. They’d have to pack light and leave their respective homes without arousing suspicion. “You’re really serious…!” 

 

Adrien sat up in his seat and ran a hand through his hair. 

 

“Okay. We can definitely do this. We’ll go to Hoenn, you and me, and leave Kalos in the dust!” His smile was so wide that his cheeks were probably going to be sore later, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. He was so giddy with the sudden proposal that he felt nigh invincible. And overall incredulous that it had been Imogen to propose such a thing. To think, straight lace Imogen Walsh - heir to the noble Walsh Family’s  _ whatevers  _ \- wanted to skip ship! 

 

“I can’t believe you would say that, wow, I’m not dreaming right? You really wanna go? Like for real? No take backs? No, ‘surprise Adrien i’m just pulling your leg!’ or like ‘surprise Adrien this was a test and you failed for being a gullible sucker!’???” 

 

His incredulous excitement was met with a nervous shift and a shake of the head. Imogen fought the urge to roll his eyes but he couldn’t keep from smiling a little at the infectious atmosphere. 

 

“No, you are not dreaming and no, I am not making jests. I.. I want to go. It’ll be like.... one of those pokemon adventures you always hear about on the tele.” 

 

Adrien’s bubbling laughter caused Imogen to smile even more. 

 

“Yeah, an adventure like on the ‘tele’...!” He grinned at Imogen as he firmly planted both hands on the table and slouched over it. “We should leave now.” 

 

“Now…? You mean as soon as we can or are you saying we should leave at this _very_ _moment_?” 

 

“Now now, like  _ right  _ now!” 

 

Imogen’s smile faltered, but that didn’t seem to stop Adrien from going on. 

 

“If we waited you’d get cold feet and chicken out. Cmon, be a little impulsive once in your life! Let’s just go!

 

Imogen... Hey,” 

 

The older teen looked up from his lap at the boy calling to him. Adrien gave his best reassuring smile and spoke to him in a gentle voice. 

 

“it’s okay to do things for yourself. So what if you’re gone for a little while, they’ll handle things without you. Cmon, don’t think about it so much an’ just... do it.” 

 

Imogen looked back at his lap once again, just briefly, before giving Adrien a tight lipped and furrowed brow nod. 

 

“Alright...!" He took a steadying breath and tried to let go of all his tension.  "As they say, ‘now or never’...!” 

**Author's Note:**

> Another short oc fic to help loosen up my writing :'3 
> 
> this one doesn't really connect with the other one (a.)


End file.
